Descending
by Luinriel
Summary: A Battle Royale fanfic featuring a Megumi/Mizhuo pairing. Written on a request from Vizier Mountain of the battleroyalefilm forum.
1. Chapter 1:Confessions

**DESCENDING**

**a Battle Royale Fanfic**

**Chapter one: Confessions**

"Mom? Where's my bag? I need it for the trip tomorrow!" Megumi Eto( Girl nr. 3) yelled, just as she saw the blue fabric of the school-issued over-night/gym bag underneath her bed. " Never mind, I found it!"

One of Megumi's best friends, Mizhuo Inada( Girl nr.1) was sitting quietly on the floor next to a desk covered with books, magazines, cd's and the occational homework."I can't wait for the trip! I heard Shuya's planning on bringing some burbon! Oh, do you know Nakagawa's got a crush on him? Noriko, I mean, not Yuka!" Megumi kept babbling on as she gathered clothes, a disposable camera, and various other things and stuffed them into her bag.

When Mizhuo remained uncharacteristically quiet, Megumi glanced over at her, and found her friend deep in thought, her fingers playing with the crystal pendant around her neck, a clear sign that she was nervous. Mizhuo must have felt Megumi's stare, because she looked up, and pushed her short black hair out of her eyes. "I need to tell you something. I've wanted to tell you for so long, but..." Mizhuo's voice trailed off. Megumi sat down next to her friend, and a creeping suspicion entered her mind. "Has Hard-Core Souma and those so-called friends of hers been bugging you again?" Mizhuo shook her head."What is it then? Whatever it is, you can tell me."Mizhuo's lips began to quivering, and soon drops of salty tears were running down her cheeks. She drew a deep breath, and looked down.

"I..." Mizhuo started before losing her nerve. Once again she breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. Almost whispering, she finaly managed to chocke out "I'm in love with you. I have been for a while..." When Megumi didn't reply, she continued "Please, don't hate me! I know you're not like that, that you're not...but I just had to tell you...Couldn't keep it to myself anymore." Mizhuo sobbed, hiding her face in her hands, apparently not daring to look at the object of her affection.

In Megumi, a million emotions were exploding. She opened her mouth to tell Mizhuo that she was right, that nothing could ever happen between them, that she was madly in love with Shuya Nanahara. But before she could say a word, Mizhuo finaly looked up and the two girls eyes met. Megumi could hardly breathe. In a flash, she felt as though her body slowly experiencing a meltdown. A warm, burning sensation filled her stomach. In the second her eyes met Mizhuo's, Megumi's world was turned upside down. There was something so beautiful and sad, so full of longing in those chocolate-colored eyes, that she couldn't help it. She fell deeply in love with Mizhuo Inada, her best friend. As if slowly waking from a coma, Megumi came to her senses, and did the only thing she could think of.

As her lips met Mizhuo's, she sensed the other girls surprise, before the kiss was hungrily returned, tears streaming down both of their faces. None of them cared what tomorrow would bring, what the others would think. They had each other.

Mizhuo was in a daze. As she woke up, Megumi, her secret love for years, now lay sleeping in her arms, and the happiness she felt was almost unbearable as the memories of the previous night came rushing back to her.

After they had pulled apart from their first kiss, they both blushed, suddenly shy. " I love you too", Megumi had said, making all of Mizhuos wishes come true with four tiny words. As their eyes met, they couldn't help but laugh: they wore identical nervous, surprised and unbelievably happy expressions. Then they had laid down on the bed(because of the graduation-trip the next day, Mizhuo was to spend the night anyway), simply holding each other, kissing softly. Both girls were too overwhelmed with what they felt to even consider anything else. Talking in whispers about everything and nothing, the pair fell asleep still holding hands, happy little smiles on their lips.

Mizhuo spend her first ten minutes awake that morning staring at Megumis tiny frame next to her,stroking her cheek gently with one finger. One thought went through her mind continuously before she woke her with a kiss: "I can't lose her. Now that I finally have her, I can't lose her. I'd go mad."


	2. Chapter 2:Capture

**Chapter 2: Capture**

"Okay, everyone. Keep calm. I know this is your senior-trip, but you still have to follow school-roules" Hayashida-sensei shouted from his seat at the front of the buss. His voice, however, could hardly be heard over the laughter, yelling and talking of the 42 students of Class 3B,Shiroiwa Junior High. Megumi looked around, and found Mizhuo a few seats ahead of her. A smile spread across her face. Mizhuo was apparently in a heated discussion with Kaori Minami (Girl nr. 20) about some idol or other, most likely Junya, whom they both loved. "oh, come on, Kaori, you can't seriously think that Sayonara is his best PV? Arigatou is so much better!" Mizhuo's voice reached Megumi, and she had to laugh.

As the trip would take a while, she took a manga out of her bag, and started to read. When she looked out the window an uneventful 45 minutes later they were driving through the countyside. Some people had already fallen asleep even though it was only 8 PM, and the rest were strangely quiet. Come to think of it, she was feeling a bit drowzy as well. Suddenly Megumi felt Noriko Nakagawa's(girl nr. 15) head on her shoulder. She was fast asleep. And now, so was most of the class. The only people still awake was Shuya Nanahara(boy nr. 15), and that creepy transfer student Kawada-something-or other, who for some bizarre reason unknown to Megumi, was pounding the window, trying to break the glass. Even Hayashida-sensei was sleeping, snorling slightly."Huh...Why..?" Megumi tried to form a complete thought, but now she was so tired that her mind felt like it was wrapped in cotton, and the last thing she could remember before falling asleep was Mizhuos head sticking out into the isle of the buss.

"Who are you?" Megumi thought she heard Shuya's voice in the distance. But that didn't make any sense. He knew who she was, so why would he ask her that? Slowly she raised her still foggy head and realized that she was in a dimly lit classroom with several other people her head was still too messed up to see clearly. She blinked a few times and shook her head to clear it a bit. Looking around she saw that the people around her were her classmates, and that it had indeed been Shuya that had spoken some seconds ago. Then she remembered Mizhuo, and franticaly searched the classroom. When she found Mizhuos warm familiar eyes looking at her, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were here togeher.

"Okay, now that everyone's awake, I guess we can start." Megumi jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, and quickly faced the front of the classroom. There was one of the most ridiculous looking men she had ever seen. He was short, and there was no getting away from the fact that he recembled a toad. "To answer Nanahara-kun's question, my name is Kinpachi Sakamoto, and I'm going to be your instructor for the next three days. It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been chosen for this years Programme"

The entire class went silent.


	3. Chapter 3:The Classroom

**Chapter 3: The Classroom**

The classroom was quiet for a few seconds more, and then Megumi heard a scream, the first of many screams in the next 72 hours. Her head was still too groggy to make much sense of the situation,or to register which of her 41 classmates had screamed, but the truth was slowly dawning upon her. Her and all her friends, the people she had grown up with, had been recruited for the Program. They were going to butcher each other. This realization was strengthened by the ten or so armed soldiers standing evenly spaced throughout the room.

After the first shock had passed she focused once more on the man who had introduced himself as Kinpachi Sakamoto, and realized that he was still talking. "So..Most of you know what the Program is, but I still have to explain to you the rules and how to play, so you can be good little warriors out there" A huge, quite disturbing smile spread across Sakamoto's face. "It's quite simple, little ones, kill or be killed. Fight to the death. You'll all get a bag with supplies, food, water, the essentials, and a unique weapon. The weapons are randomly selected . Also, you may have noticed that you've gotten some new necklaces." At this, Megumi's hand, like that of Yoshimi Yahagi, Kazuhiko Yamamoto, Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, and a few others, went straight to her throat, only to find a cold, metalic band. Megumi suddenly felt like throwing up. They had her collared like a dog! Sakamoto continued talking, while Megumi let her hands play along the collar, trying to find a lock. " The collars transmits your vital signs to us, and tells us if you're still alive, where you are and what you're up to. They can't be removed, and if I were you, Miss Eto, I wouln't try." Megumi's hands froze as she felt the icy, yet giddy eyes of their instructor on her. "You see, those pretty little collars don't just tell us what you're up to. They also have a lot of big bad explosives wired to them, and if you pull to hard on them...Well, let's just say you'll hear a big boom and be a head shorter, shall we?

Oh, and there's a time limit in this fun little game! Three days. If more than one of you is still alive after three days, your collars will automatically detonate. So make sure you're efficient young killers. There will be only one survivor." With a quick smile to the class, making him look more like a toad than ever, Sakamoto turned to an ancient TV Megumi hadn't noticed before, and proclamed "It's movie time! Pay attention everyone..."

Only one survivor...As this realization hit Megumi, panic stated to take over. Fighting back her tears she looked around the room. Most of her classmates seemed frozen in place, still too shocked to move, or silently crying, watching the video. Only a few words from the film registered in the 15 year old's mind. Something about an island and danger zones...and super luck weapons... As her eyes once again met Mizhuo's, panic almost took control over Megumis slender body. "No...Not this...Not her..." The only thing she knew at the moment was that she couldn't, and wouldn't kill the person she loved.

Mizhuo had much the same reaction to the situation as her girlfriend. As she watched the video, waved of panic and anguish threatened to overpower her. It was too painful to think about. They had only had a day together, after becoming a couple, most of it spent either sleeping or passed out, and now they had at most three days before they would be torn apart forever, one way or another. She had no way of knowing just how little time they would have together before the end. Mizhuo wanted to scream, kick and hit the tiny man now sitting on a desk in front of the class, make him realize that he couldn't do this to them...Luckily, she had learned to control her urges. Suddenly, Sakamoto jumped to his feet and yelled "No whispering while class is in session!" Something shiny flashed, flying throught the air, hitting Fumiyo Fujiwara's head with a dull thud. Instead of bouncing off, the object stayed deeply embedded in the girls forhead. Fumiyo swayed in her seat a few seconds, and suddenly falling over, she landed on the floor, unmistakably dead.

"Now, if you're all finished chatting, shall we move on?" Sakamoto asked. Hardly anyone dared breathe, though Mizhuo could see Shuya Nanahara shaking with repressed anger.

Suddenly, she was in a warm, familiar place. It was the Palace of Ahura Mazda, and she was the was the warrior princess Prexia Dikianne Mizhuo. But something was wrong. There was no Ahura Mazda, and the safe familiarity of the Palace was saturated with something..dark..evil. There were demons everywhere.

With a shake of her head, Mizhuo brought herself back to reality. This was not the time to lose herself in her imaginary world, comforting as it might be, even filled with demons. It had been years since she'd let herself space out like that, and now it happened at the wort possible time. Suddenly screams of pure terror hit her, and she felt a metallic, sour smell in the air. Yoshitoki Kuninobu, or just Nobu, as he was better known, was laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, half his face missing. The sight made her dizzy and naucious, and Mizhuo realized she must have been gone a lot longer then she thought, as most of the class were silently shaking with tears, and Noriko Nakagawa had bloodpuring down her leg from something that looked terrifyingly like a bullet wound. Mizhuo barely had time to react befrore the horrible video started again. Most likely Nobu had done something stupid after Fujiyoshi had died, and gotten himself killed.

The last few minutes of the movie passed quickly and uneventfully, and finaly the screen turned blue. Sakamoto got a piece of paper from the desk he had been sitting on, and suddenly a pair of sliding doors opened, and four soldiers wheeled in two moveable shelves containing the students bags.

"Now, when I call your name, come up here, get your bag, and then head out through the hallway. Any of you stray behind, you will be shot, so make sure to keep walking. The game starts as soon as you're out of here. Enjoy the next few days, my little ones, and remember, you can team up,enter bildings, but only one leaves this island alive in the end. Now, the first student out is boy number 1, Yoshio Akamatsu!" As Akamatsu slowly got to his feet, and shakingly grabbed his bag, Mizuho realized that she would be next, and quickly scribbled "I'll be waiting for you outside. I love you," on a piece of paper. When Sakamoto anounced "Next, girls number 1, Mizhuo Inada. Quickly now." Mizhuo got up, and as she passed by Megumi's desk, she slipped the note onto the desk, held her head high, took her bag , and walked through the doors and into absolute terror.


	4. Chapter 4:Decisions in the night

**Chapter 4: Decisions in the night**

The short wait from the time Mizhuo left the classroom until her name was called was the most agonizing minutes Megumi had experienced in her life. What if she was too late? What if one of the 4 other students released before her had gotten to Mizhuo first? What if she was already dead? Megumi gave herself a metal slap in the face as she past a row of soldiers down a long hallway, ending in a doorway out into the darkness. "Think positive. There's only four people out here yet, besides you and Mizhuo, and none of them are the killing kind. Akamatsu wouldn't even hurt a fly, and Oki might look scary, but he's a good guy, as far as I know. The same goes for the rest of them...But.." Doubt and terror filled all of Megumis beeing. Stopping in the doorway, to scared to move out into the open, she looked out. There were loads of trees and bushed everywhere, and it was clearly night. The moon was full and round, and the black velvet of the sky was scattered with silver stars. Megumi might have apreciated the beauty of the view if she hadn't been terrified beyond belief. As she hesitantly took a step outside, she heard something move through the bushed. She didn't see anyone though. Taking a deep breath, she ran to the nearest bushes, and crouched down, hiding. Mizhuo was nowhere in sight. As she scrambled to her feet,ready to keep moving at the smallest sound, she suddenly felt s pair of hands over her mouth and waist, pulling her back, while effectivly stopping her from screaming. Close to panic, Megumi suddenly heard a whisper that made everything perfect again. "It's me, don't worry" The hands released her, and as Megumi turned around, she saw the most beautiful sight in her short life. She flung herself around Mizhuo's shoulders, hugging her tight, while crying her eyes out. Suddenly she felt the other girls body stiffen, and pulled away. Looking up, she saw Mizhuo signal her to be quiet and pointed back to the building they had just exited. Toshinori Oda stood out in the open, with his bag in front of him. He bent down, looking more and more like a frog than ever,reminding them horribly of and pulled something out of the bag. From the distance and in the dark it looked like a normal vest, but the girls guessed that is was bulletproof. With a gleeful expression, Oda quickly pulled it over his shirt, and put his uniform jacket back on, and sprinted of into the night.

Mizhuo had felt a wave of relief when she finally had Megumi within hugging distance, but the feeling was quickly fading. It was too dangerous to stay put. Lightly tapping Megumi's shoulder, she signaled for the both of them to move. They gathered their bags, and started running. Mizhuo didn't know how long or how far they had been moving, but in the end they both fell to the ground exhausted, and fell asleep under a branch.

When she woke up, Mizhuo was still groggy and dizzy with exhaustion, but shook the last bit of sleep her head, and looked over at Megumi, who was still asleep on the ground next to her. Suddenly she heard a sound that made her jump to her feet, before she felt absolutely ridiculous. It was a bird chirping. They must have fallen asleep right beneath a bird's nest. They couldn't have slept long. It was still dark outside, and the moon was still up. Laughing quietly to herself, she woke Megumi with a soft kiss on the lips. The girls didn't feel like there was much to talk about, not yet anyway, so breakfast was a quiet affair of cardboard-tasting millitary rations and water. After washing the last amount of sleep from their face in a tiny brook, they sat down on a rotten piece of wood which by the looks of a tree nearby had been hit by lightening. "So...What do we do? I mean...Do we fight? Do we find more people? Hide out?" Mizhuo looked at her girlfriend(her heart swelled with pride and happiness at the thought. Megumi..Her girlfriend. Even now, in this fucked up situation, it was enough to make her smile..almost) Megumi chewed her bottom lip nervously, and said " I don't know..I realy hate this. I don't want to fight! I can't kill anyone! And I don't want to leave you either!" Tears were pouring down her cheeks now, and Mizhuo had never seen anything so defenceless, sweet and heartbreaking . Taking Megumis face in her hand she gave the smaller girl a passionate, lingering kiss that she hoped would convey all the emotions she felt at the moment "I know. This is horrible. Let's just find somewhere to hide out. If we're lucky, we'll both be alive in three days, and then we can die together, when the collars explode. I don't know if any of the others will play, but I won't. Besides.. the Princess Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo doesn't condone pointless violence!"Mizhuo anounced the last part grandly, like the bards of oldl. Megumi wiped her tears and laughted weakly, exactly the reaction Mizhuo had hoped the refference to their favorite role playing game would get. "Hey, let's make a deal" Mizhuo rumaged through her bag, suddenly remembering something from the introduction video. There it was, the map of the island, and a list of her classmates. Quickly unfolding the map, she looked over it, and found what she was hoping for. "Here, see, the cluster of houses there? It's probably a residential area. If we get separated for whatever reason, let's meet up again there." Megumi grabbed her bag, and started searching for the map. Suddenly she gave a small yell, and quickly threw it away. Her finger was quickly turning red with blood.

"What happend" Mizhuo cried out and rushed to Megumi's side."It's nothing. I just cut myself on something." Grabbing her bag again, Megumi carefully looked through it again. There it was. A long, sharp diving knife. It was her issued weapon, and it sent shivers down her spine. This was all to real, and they would all die. As Mizhuo saw the knife gleaming in the moonlight, she once again grabbed her bag and searched more thoroughly while Megumi marked out their meeting point on her map. Shaking, Mizhuo found what she was searching for. She had gotten a revolver. "At least I'll be able to protect us. A revolver isn't too horrible a wapon." The girls got to their feet, and started moving.

Suddenly, Mizhuo's foot got caught in a root, and she fell flat faced on the grownd, and just as suddenly, she was Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo again, standing next to an angel in a temple of slippery green plants, surrounded by familiar demons in the dark.


	5. Chapter 5:Delusions

**Chapter 5: Delusions**

There were many things Megumi didn't know about her girlfriend. Her favorite cake, what she dreamed of becoming when she grew up(not that that would be a likely issue now), or who her first crush was.

Another thing she didn't know was that ever since she was born, Mizhuo's parents had felt that there was something..not quite right...with their daughter. As a child, in times of stress, or when she felt threatened or sad, she would become silent and introverted one moment, only to become violent the next. They hoped it was just a phase that she would grow out of. But the years went by, and her "episodes" as they liked to call it, didn't disappear. When she was 5, they decided it was time to take her to a psychologist. Dr. Yagami was a kind man in his forties, with thick gray streaked hair and friendly eyes. Mizhuo liked him a lot, and they talked,and laughed, Mizhuo never realising why he wanted to ask her so many questions, or why her parents always spent the drive home sending each other silent, worried looks, or crying quietly. After half a year, the diagnosis was complete: Mizhuo had paranoid schizophrenia accompanied with powerful delusions. She would escape the stress and horrors of the real word, and enter a world of light where she was a worrior, a princess, someone powerful. Never once did Mizhuo realize this, never remembering anything from her delusions. Neither did she know that her role playing game was very much based on this world she had buld in her mind. She was told she was suffering from blackouts, and prescribed anti-psychotics. The next 10 years of her life she usually no longer "disappeared" due to stress. Then came the Battle Royale, and 3 and a half days without her meds...

"Mizhuo? Are you okay?" The beauty of the angel staring down on her almost blinded her, and as the Princess Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo got up from the ground, she looked around. Her beautiful world of light was clouded by darkness, and she could feel the demons surrounding her and the angel crawling all over their island kingdom, like ants. The demons had once been her loyal subjects and friends, but now they represented the pure evil infiltrating the world. "Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo, warrior most trused." Mizhuo turned towards the voice, a voice she knew well, and saw her God, Ahura Mazda. In her mind, Mizhuo knelt before the deity. In reality, she was being guided by a weeping Megumi, seemingly catatonic, while they were trying to find a safe place, or as safe as possable in the situation "Will you accept a mission for me?" Mizhuo had no choice. She could see the angel, still by her side, crying bitter tears.

" I will, with honor, my Lord, My Light! What ever you demand"

"Rid the world of the demons. And keep your Angel safe. She is more precious to you than you know. You alone have the skills and tool necessary. The Flaming Sword hidden in your traveling bag can kill any you come across, if you only have the courage to use it."

"But they are my friends! They can still be saved! They need not be demons forever-" Angry now, the God of Light interrupted her, and suddenly they were in front of an altar, decorated with a silver mirror. Hesitantly, Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo looked into the mirror. What she saw was the demons, her former friends, destroying everything she held dear, ripping her angel apart, spilling blood everywhere.

"No, Warrior Princess, they can not. What you have seen is the future, if you do not act. Only by taking their lives will their souls be saved, and they can be freed."

"Then I shall do my best"

As Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo accepted her grim task, the Angel took her face in her hands, and their lips met in a soft kiss.

Suddenly Mizhuo felt herself shiver with cold, a pain in her legs that could only come from sitting on her knees for too long, and pulled away from Megumi's kiss. Shaking her head she saw that her girlfriends face was grimy with tears, but a smile quickly spread across her lip. "You're okay! Oh, thank God! Thank God!" was all Megumi could say before collapsing in a bundle of happy tears in Mizhuo's arms. Hugging Megumi's tiny frame, gently kissing her hair,she quietly asked"What happended" Megumi picked herself up, pulled away from the embrace, sniffled and dried her tears with a quick swipe of her hand.

"You fell. When you didn't get up, I...I thought...but then I realized that you were..well..I couldn't get a word out of you. And your eyes..." A shiver went through Megumi. The eyes were the last things Megumi wanted to think about, but..." They were so...distant..Like you weren't even there, like you were just an empty shell. That was maybe half an hour ago. At first I decided to stay put, but then I heard someone moving around the bushed, and we had to find a new place to hide" Looking around, Mizhuo saw that they were in a tiny room with a altar covered with dust and ancient candlesticks. The door in the opposite end of the room was cracked open, moonlight shining through, lighting up the otherwise dark space.

"In a shindo shrine. I think we should move though. There's only one exit. If we're attacked, we wouldn't be able to get away."

Ten minutes later the had eaten, emptied one of their water bottles, and were ready to move. Mizhuo carefully edged out the door, seeing if it was safe. Seeing as Megumi had risked her life by not leaving the catatonic Mizhuo lie where she fell, she thought it was only fair that she took the risk.

"It's okay. Come on, let's go" As the girls pushed the door shut, they suddenly felt something brush past their cheek, and heard a loud clang. Yelling and trowing themselves to the ground to avoid the machette now being swung at their throats, just missing it's target, they saw boy nr. 3, Tatsumichi Oki, coming at them. Mizhuo didn't have the time to get off the ground before Okis lagre frame pinned her to the ground. With a snarl, he grabbed her neck, efficiently stangeling her. Kicking and twisting, Mizhuo knew it was useless. The boy she had though would never play this sick game was now killing her. Choking, she suddenly wished for one of her blackouts, so she wouldn't suffer, so it would be over. But nothing happened. As her body slowly shut down from lack of oxygen, Megumi's face swam before her eyes, and she suddenly wanted to cry. Megumi was the one thing she didn't want to lose. Gathering her last strength she smashed her head into her attackers nose, forcing him to break his hold on her. Gasping for air, coughing, she pushed the boy off her, and quickly got to her feet. Oki was soon on his feet as well, machette in hand. "You bitch! You broke my nose! I'll fucking kill you!" Runing towards her, eyes only on his intended kill, and still in pain, Oki had forgotten about Megumi. As he closed in on Mizhuo, Megumi suddenly ran out from the nearby bushes, jumping and throwing her herself on to Oki's back, arms around his neck. The two of them tumbled to the ground, struggling. Knowing she wasn't strong enough to keep Oki grounded for long, her only though was to save her one true love.

"Run! You know where to meet me"

Mizhuo stood paralyzed for about two seconds, then quickly grabbed her bag and ran as fast as feet would allow only allowing herself to quickly glance back to where her girlfriend was locked in a deadly fight.


	6. Chapter 6: Final Descent

**Chapter 6: Final Descent**

Megumi tried her best to keep Oki on the ground, but the boy easily threw her off. She landed on her back with a thud, pain shooting through her entire body. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Mizhuo sprinting for cover. A wave of relief erased all the pain she was feeling. At least Mizhuo had gotten away. Her soul would live for a while longer.

She got to her feet, ran towards her bag, and with an incrediable amount of luck managed to fish out her knife before Oki cought up to her.

He grabbed her and once again threw her to the ground. She only just managed to roll out of the was before his machette came crashing to the ground, only centimetres away from where her head had been moments ago. Megumi gathered all her strengt and kicked Oki as hard as she could in the stomack. He groaned , dropped the machetteas he sank to his knees, stuggeling to catch his breath. Megumi crawled on all fours, grabbed her oponents weapon and threw it as far as she could. Oki screamed, got up of the ground and rushed toward the machette gleaming in the moonlight. Megumi quickly raised her knife, though she know it would do no good if Oki came at her full force. As Oki reached the machette, she spun around and started sprinting for cover behind the shrine. Pressing her back against the cold stone; she prayed that he would not see her. From the other side of the shrine she heard Oki yelling.

« Where are you, Megumi? I know you're here somewhere! You and your puny little knife is in so much trouble once I find you!»

Edging her way along the shrine wall, Megumi searched desperatly for some way to escape without being seen. The bushes near the small shrine were close enough for her to make a run for it, but she would most certanly be noticed. She stood there a few minutes concidering her options. Suddenly something blocked the moonlight, and she heard a swish. She ducked just in time,and dodged the heavy blow from the machette. Megumi screamed and tried to run. Oki was faster. He hit her across the head with his free hand. She stumbled backwards, dazed from the heavy blow, and crumbled to the ground, once more leaning toward the stone wall of the tiny shrine.

«Why?» was all she managed to whisper, as Oki raised his weapon and prepared to strike again.

«Why? Why?» Oki yelled, lowering the machette as he spoke « Why not!? I'm the new kid, aren't I? Who do you think people will attack first? I'm just one step ahead» Just as he prepeared so strike again, killing Megumi, the sound of a rapid series of gunfire made Oki jump, distracting him long enough for Megumi to kick him right beween the legs, bringing him once again to the ground, bendt over in pain. Thinking quickly, Megumi grapped her bag, and fled into the bushes. Once it felt safe enough, she stopped, gasping for air. The woods were completely quiet, exept for the occational bird chirping. Quickly checking her map, Megumi headed for the residential area, hoping that somehow, she would meet the love of her life again before it all ended.

By some miracle, she managed to get to the houses without meeting anyone. After trying a few doors and windows, she finaly found one that was open. She quickly entered, and barricaded herself in the kitchen.

Shaking, she hid under the counter, making herself as small as possible. Time passed by slowly, and as she sat there crying, thinking about Mizhuo, her family, her friends, Megumi remembered her phone. The phone her parents had made her bring. She had thought they were being silly and overprotective at the time. Why would she ever need a phone on a class trip? Well, she had certanly been proven wrong. Fishing the phone out of her bag, she was overjoyed to find it had a signal. She dialed her parents number, and as a voice in the other end answered, she almost yelled out in horror « Hi, Megumi..This is Sakamochi...» Just as she threw the phone away, Megumi heard the sound of a window breaking, and then someone making their way towards the kitchen.

The door opened, and someone with pretty, long lengs entered. Suddenly, the electric beep of the phone's ringtone shattered the silence of the house. The pretty legs twirled aroundand dropped to their knees..It was Mitsuko Souma. «Megumi! Thank god!» Tears were streaming down her cheeks. «You...you won't hurt me, will you? I..I just don't want to be alone. Please let me stay..We...We're friends, aren't we? Megumi? » Megumi felt a wave of relief. Mitsuko had a bad reputation, but she was just a kid like herself, after all. Megumi smiled weakly through her own tears, and hugged the girl everyone else called Hard-Core Souma.

Mizhuo ran thrught the woods, stumbling over roots and rocks,the branches and bushes around her scratching her skin. She ignored all of this. The scratches and tears on her bare legs burned, but that hardly mattered now. Breathing hard, Mizhuo finaly stopped, and dropped to the ground, to exhausted to keep running. She felt as though her entire being was being torn appart. Muttering «Megumi» quietly to herself, her mind was filled with horrible visions: Megumi laying in a bloody pulp on the ground, Megumi with a dark chrimson hole through her forhead, a shocked look in her eyes...It was all to much for Mizhuo to handle. She closed her eyes, and screamed with all her fear, anxiety, and pain. It was one of the most heartwrenching screams ever to be heard on the island.

«Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo?» As the Warrior opened her eyes again, she found herself on her knees, facing Azura Mazda. But now, the light in the devine face had all but dissapeared it was streaked with tears of blood.

«Ye...yes..?»

«You have dissapointed me. You were to protect the Angel, and you have abandoned her in the most horrible danger!»

«Forgive me! Please understand...the Demon..He was so strong..He almost cost me my life!»

«I told you the Angel was of greatest importance to you, even more so than you know. She is your only chance of finding your true self, and thus save everyone. And now she is in the hands of your so called friends, the Demons.»

Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo got to her feet, athering all the courage she could find, and with her head held high, she asked «How can I save her? What must I do?»

«Kill them. Kill them all»

Mizhuo found herself laying on the ground, but only thought she'd fallen asleep. It was still dark outside, so not much time could have passed. Ten minutes at the most. She checked her watch. It was only 4.30 in the morning.

Suddenly, a loud series of gunshots eccoes across the island. It sounded to Mizhuo like it was coming from the south tip of the island. The noise was like a cold splash of water in her face. She grabbed her bag and ran as fast as she could while still trying to remain relatively hidden from who ever might be watching.

As she got closer to the edge of the forrest, she could see a cluster of dark-windowed houses. Mizhuo fished out the map of the island, and quickly oriented her self. If she was not mistaken, the houses in front of her were the ones she had agreed to meet with Megumi if they got separated.

Stowing away the map, she slowly started walking towards the houses, thinking of nothing but the fact that her girlfriend might be waiting there for her.

Searching through a few of the houses, Mizhuo found nothing but old food and clothes thrown on the floor, most likely by the previous occupants in their hurry to be evacuated from the island before the friends and classmates were sent out to butcher eachother.

As Mizhuo quickly ran from house to house, she suddenly heard a phone ringing from one of the nearby houses. «Megumi...Megumi brought a phone!» Smiling, she glanced around quickly to make sure she was alone, and sprinted towards the house.

As she glaced through an open window, she could see the darkness of two people sitting on the floor, just out of the moonlight. She instatly recognized Mitsuko's voice «...Please, let me stay...We..We're friends, aren't we? Megumi?»

As the girls embraced, Mizhuo saw something gleaming in the moonlight behind Mitsuko. Suddenly, the gleaming object rushed through the air and a strange tearing sound reached her. She saw Megumi sway back and forth a few times on her knees, then fall backward, into the moonlight.

Mizhuo felt her world break down and shatter, and the last bit of sanity left in her disapeared, and her descent into madness was complete.

She was Prexia Dikiane Mizhuo, Warrior Princess to Azura Mazda, and her angel of love lay out of reach in a cage a pool quickly forming around her head, a Demon standing grinning above her, a scythe dripping with silver blood in her hands.

Azura Mazda's voice rang from above.

« You have failed me, Warrior. You are now alone.»

The fallen warrior Prixia Dikiane Mizhuo stumbled her way through the rest of the Battle Royale, fighting demons when she came across them, but killing none. Once, one of the Demons tried to speak to her, claiming to be Shuya Nanahara. She attacked with her Flaming Sword, but the bullets of fire missed, and the Demon Shuya escaped.

The warrior died,praying to her God of Light for mercy and the life of her beloved Angel, as a Demon recembeling a previous classmate,Kazou Kiriyama, attacked from behind. She didn't mind. Life had no meaning anymore.

**The End**


End file.
